This is the moment a group of cyclists rescue an emaciated female dog that had been tied to a tree in the middle of the woods before being abandoned.

The dog was found in the Sierra de Pias area in the municipality of Valongo, in Porto, northern Portugal by a group of eight cyclists who had decided to train in the area.

In the video, the cyclists can be seen feeding the dog, whose ribs are clearly visible through its fur, as one of the group works to cut the rope the pooch has been tied to the tree with.

When the rope is cut the dog appears to be shocked, flinching and appearing to be in pain in the area of its neck where it was previously tied up.

The cyclists continue feeding the hungry pooch by hand and checking a wound on her neck believed to have been caused by the rope.

Nuno Rocha, one of the cyclists, told reporters: “When we got next to her we were shocked. That shouldn’t be done to anyone. We started giving her energy bars and petting her to gain her trust and then my friend cut the rope and released her.”

The dog reportedly ran away from the cyclists after the video was taken but they returned the next day and found it again in the same area.

Then they called the local fire department who took the dog to a veterinarian to be attended to.

Picture Credits: CEN

Local media report the dog was treated and has now been adopted, although its new owner has not been named.

Local authorities are reportedly searching for the person who tied the dog to the tree but no suspects have been identified.

‘Rosa Roque’ said: “Good she is starting a new life but do not forget that justice needs to be done to punish the beast who did this horrible thing.”

And ‘Judite martins’ commented: “I got shocked seeing the animal in that bad state, I hope the coward is discovered, thank you firefighters and good that she has already been adopted.”